Golf practice device



March 17, 1936. N. WAGNER 2,034,684

GOLF PRACTICE DEVICE Filed Sept. 12, 1933 Jhveni r JEJQ /z, 72,. wa ynerPatented Mar. 17, I936 UNITE D" STATES 4 Claims.

The invention :relates generally togames and more particularly to a golfpracticezdevice adapted to measurethe force and indicate the directionof a golf drive.

The primary object of the inventionis to provide such a device which issimple and rugged in construction and accurate in operation.

Another object is toprovide' a device of this character which is.adapted for use in a relatively small space, as for instance, in theparlor or other room of a dwelling.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a device which maybe: packed readily and easily in a small space so asto facilitatestorage and transportation thereof.

Other objects and advantages of .therinvention will become apparent-from:the following description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective'view showing the forward side of a golf.practice. device embodying the features of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the device.

Fig. 3 is .a central. .vertical sectionalview of the device.

Fig. 4 is a central sectional view of the ball.

While my invention is susceptible of embodiment in'many differentforms,.I have shown in the drawing and..-will herein'describe inrdetailone such embodiment, with thezunderstanding that the present disclosureis'to. be considered.

as' an exemplification of the. principles of the invention and is notintended to: limit the invention to. the embodiment illustrated. Thescope of the invention will be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the embodiment chosen for disclosure herein the invention isparticularly adapted for use within a room and it comprises a two partstandard l0 supporting on its forward face a vertically positionedtarget II. The target H is relatively small and is so constructed thatit is adapted to be hit by a golf ball 12 so as to register on anindicator l3 the relative power of the drive, as well as to indicatewhether the drive has been sliced or hooked.

In accordance with the present invention, the relative force or distanceof the drive is measured indirectly by measuring the force of therebound of the ball I 2 from the target II, and to this end the ball isconnected to the indicator l3 by a flexible cord I4 of suitable materialsuch as leather.

If desired, a swivel joint I 4* may be incorporated in the cord adjacentto the ball l2 (Fig. 3)

so -as to avoid twisting of the cord. As shown in Fig. 4, the cord I4 isthreaded through a bore I2 in the ball l2, and its end is knotted in theenlarged; end of the bore to retain the cord in position. A filler lZand a bearing collar l2 may beusedto protect the knot and the projectingend of the cord from wear.

In theme of the device, the ball I2 is placed in front of the target I Iat a distance of approximately four feet, and in order to preventinterference with the swing of the club (not shown). along a path A(Fig. 2) the two parts of the standard It are arranged at an angle so asto proect outwardly and rearwardly from the center line of the target.This construction also lends stability to the standard without the useof an additional base member.

To: support the target H and the indicator I3 on the standard Hl, aframe member I5 is mounted in the vertical space between the adjacentedges of the two parts of the standard, themember being located in avertical position slightly rearwardly of the center of the standard.From the forward face of the frame member l5 two'vertically spacedbrackets l5 project to support hinges l7 whereby the target II ismovably supported. The target I l is constructed in two similar parts orback boards ll which project in opposite directions from the centralaxis defined by the hinges I l, and one leaf of each hinge is connectedto each back board H The hinges- H are connected to the brackets bytheir pivot pins. The hinges are of the spring closed type which tend atall times to bring the back'boards I E to a common plane, and toposition the back board in the desired angular location, a spring isprojectsforwardly from. the frame member l5 and into a slot formedbetween the adjacent edges of the back board elements Il the spring i8being positioned between the adjacent edges of the target ll acts tolocate the target in a rest position wherein the target always lies in aplane perpendicular to the spring l8. With the foregoing construction itwill be evident that the impact of a ball travelling as indicatcd by thedotted line B in Fig. 2 will cause rearward swinging of the right handsection of the target I! so as to indicate that the ball was sliced inthe drive. As a further indication of the direction of the drive, theswinging of the target section will cause a marked increase in theangularity of the path of rebound of the ball.

To register the force of such rebound on the indicator l3, the cord I4passes beneath the target I l and through a slot 20 in the lower end ofthe frame member 15 to a pulley 2|. From the pulley 2| the cord 14passes upwardly to a pulley 22 fixed to the housing of the indicator I3,from which it extends downwardly and is attached to a vertically movableelement or pointer 23 of the indicator. In its upward movement thepointer 23 compresses a spring 24 mounted within the indicator, while aratchet (not specifically shown) rides upwardly over teeth or notches 25in a vertically mounted rod 26.

Thus the pointer 23 of the indicator is retained by the notches 25 inthe position to which it is raised by the pull of the rebounding ball[2, such position being shown by the position of the forward end of thepointer 23 on a scale 21 on the indicator !3. After the indicator hasbeen read, the pointer is released by rotating the rod 26, a handle 28being provided at its upper end for this purpose.

In the present embodiment of the invention, the force of the rebound ofthe ball 12 is increased by covering the forward face of the target IIwith two resilient pads 29 made of material such as rubber.

Preferably the device is constructed so as to be capable of being packedin a relatively small space. To this end the target ll may be detachedby removal of the hinge pins, while the two parts of the standard l0 maybe folded together by reason of hinged connections 30 therebetween. Topermit the desired movement of the parts of the standard ill, the framemember I5 is mounted on the standard by means of two pairs of arcuatesupport members 3|, formed of relatively rigid material such as steeland fixed to the parts l0 so as to be slidable transversely around therear side of the frame member I5. Screws 32 serve to clamp the framemember l5 to the arcuate support members 3| in any desired relation. Itwill be understood that when the parts [0 of the standard are to beadjusted or folded together, about their hinged connection, two or moreof the clamping screws 32 are released or removed so as to permit freerelative pivoting of the two parts [0.

It will be evident from the foregoing description that the device hereinillustrated is of sturdy construction, is compact in use, and easilytransported in unusually compact form. The mechanism is of simpleconstruction, so as to withstand hard usage, yet the indications ofstrength and direction of the drive are accurate due to the simplicityof the principles involved.

Since the ball may be positioned relatively close to the target II, thistarget may be relatively small, thus decreasing the cost as well as thesize and weight of the device. Moreover, the small target may bepositioned relatively close to the floor thereby increasing thestability of the device as a whole.

In addition, it will be seen that since the measurement of the distanceof the drive is accomplished by the momentum of the ball at the end ofits rebound, a correction is automatically introduced for angularity ofthe drive.

I claim as my invention:

1. A device of the character described comprising a standard, a targetmounted on said standard for swinging movement about a substantiallyvertical axis located adjacent to the center of the target, a balladapted to be driven against the target, a force measuring device, anda. flexible cord attached at its opposite ends to the ball and to saidforce measuring device to operate said force measuring device inaccordance with the force of the rebound of said ball from said target.

2. A golf practice device comprising a support, a target mounted on saidsupport for swinging movement about a substantially vertical axislocated substantially at the center of the target, a ball adapted to bedriven against the target, a force measuring device, and a flexible cordconnected at its opposite ends to said ball and to said force measuringdevice and passing from said force measuring device to the ball over aguide pulley located substantially on the central axis of the target soas to measure the force of rebound of the ball from the target.

3. A golf practice device comprising a standard, a target having twoparts with adjacent vertical edges and mounted on said standard forindependent rearward swinging movement of the two parts about axeslocated adjacent to the said vertical edges of the two parts, springmeans to restore the two parts to a common plane, and a captive balladapted to be driven against said target.

4. A device of the character described comprising a pair of flatelements having adjacent edges hinged together and adapted to bepositioned in angular relation on the floor with the axis of theirhinged connection substantially vertical, a frame member detachablyconnected to said elements substantially at said axis, a force measuringdevice mounted on said member, a ball having a flexible cord connectionwith said force measuring device, and a target located forwardly of thehinged axis of said flat elements and detachably associated with saidframe member.

JOSEPHN. WAGNER.

